The Stage

Theatres Trust and SOLT subsidy report rapped by select committee

Published Thursday 31 March 2005 at 10:05 by Jeremy Austin

Both the Theatres Trust and the Society of London Theatre have been heavily criticised by the culture select committee for the lack of detail in their study Act Now, which sets out the argument for public subsidy of the West End’s commercial theatre sector.

The House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee called its session into theatre as a result of the case outlined in Act Now for a potential £250 million investment in West End theatres over the next 15 years, as well as the funding crisis at Arts Council England. It conceded that the evidence presented by the various bodies and individuals that appeared at the hearing suggested “few if any theatre buildings, whether in public or private hands, subsidised or not, can generate sufficient revenue to meet the demands of significant renovation and refurbishment”.

However, while the committee, chaired by Gerald Kaufman, supported the idea that a partnership involving the Heritage Lottery Fund, Greater London Authority and London Development Agency should be the conduit for the funding, it admonished both the Theatres Trust and SOLT for appearing to demand public cash without outlining how it should benefit the public.

Said the report: “We are dismayed the West End did not come to the table with more detailed proposals for how the money would be handled in an appropriate and accountable manner… if a local village hall playgroup has to go through the full process for a Lottery award, why should the renovation of large commercial theatres be treated less rigorously?”

It continued: “In a similar vein we were unimpressed by potential benefits for the wider Lottery-playing public in return for its investment of £125 million in this particular good cause. In fact we could not identify any on offer or under discussion.

“West End commercial theatre has made a case for public investment in its infrastructure but it has failed to back this up so far with a convincing commitment to accountability during the process nor a return for the wider public.”

The committee has suggested some of the return it would like to see on the investment, including affordable ‘people’s’ seats in theatres or a free Lottery with tickets as prizes and an attempt to tackle what it deems the “blatant rip-off” theatregoers face when buying tickets from marked-up outlets.

However, the report was supportive of the theatre industry generally. It concluded that the “overall case for substantial public investment in the theatre in this country is overwhelming” and stressed the importance of the arm’s length principal. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport was criticised for what the committee felt was the “invidious” way in which efficiency savings within ACE had been ‘rewarded’ by a reduction in the council’s grant-in-aid by almost the same amount several years later.

“The government needs to re-evaluate its allocation of resources to the arts, taking a long-term view to ensure that real terms cuts are avoided where no compelling arguments or evidence are presented for their necessity. In our view, no such arguments have been made. The government should reconsider and find the £34 million needed to keep the arts council’s funding in line with inflation.”